What Does City Farming Mean?
City farming, also called urban farming or urban agriculture, is a combination of different efforts aimed at growing fruits and vegetables in an urban area and then distributing them within that specific area.
City farming differs considerably from rural farming, due in significant part to a lack of large areas of arable land. City farmers turn to other growing methods in order to grow and harvest food, including vertical gardening, container gardening, hydroponics and aquaponics, and more. Interestingly, it can also include animal husbandry, beekeeping, and even agroforestry.
Maximum Yield Explains City Farming
Generally, you don’t relate the terms “city” and “farming”. They seem mutually exclusive. However, the city farming movement, also called urban farming or urban agriculture, has been growing rapidly in recent years.
Farms within city limits can include agricultural plots where the natural soil is used, but there are also converted warehouses that hold entire vertical farms, rooftop gardens, community-run gardens, and other similar operations.
Many advantages can be delivered through city farming methods. For instance, it provides a connection with the residents of an area and the food they consume. It can also help to offset the strain placed on natural resources by the traditional shipping of food from where it is grown to urban centers, which can sometimes be thousands of miles.
Of course, there is also the fact that food grown in an urban area is not subjected to the flooding and/or droughts that often plague growing regions around the world, ensuring a more consistent, constant food supply.
As the human population of the planet continues to grow, and as more and more people migrate from rural and suburban areas to urban centers, the need for city farming will grow.